Intersection and Lyft Bring DOOH to Chicago’s Electric Bike Network

July 10, 2025 by guest author, Antonia Hamberger

Building EV charging infrastructure is expensive, so naturally, many operators have tried turning them into DOOH networks to offset some of those expenses. This venture was successfull in the rarest of cases. One of the main issues is that EV charging stations are often removed from high-traffic areas and the cars themselves can block the screens. Plus, drivers are unlikely to spend the time it takes to charge their car watching ads – they’d rather stream Netflix on their phones.

It’s a different story when it comes to inner-city charging stations for electric rental bikes or scooters, located in areas with a high concentration of pedestrians.

Intersection, the out-of-home media company best known for the LinkNYC network, is launching one such DOOH network in Chicago. The company is partnering with ride-share giant Lyft to roll out around 100 new charging stations for electric bikes and scooters across Chicago. Each station will feature a 65-inch LCD display for DooH advertising, with 20 of these screens to be installed in the first phase.

The stations will provide charging infrastructure for the electric Divvy fleet. Launched in 2019, the Divvy bike-sharing system is owned by the Chicago Department of Transportation and operated by Lyft. Electrifying those stations is expected to reduce the need for manual battery swaps, which can require a large number of staff to manage on a daily basis.

Intersection is already the exclusive advertising sales partner for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) and Pace Suburban Bus, making the collaboration with Lyft on Divvy a natural extension. The new DOOH network will be branded as Divvy Bike Media.

Once the project is complete, Intersection’s media network will comprise over 500 DOOH screens, spanning major U.S. cities including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston, and San Francisco.

Many of these displays are embedded in what Intersection calls “consumer amenities” – things like bus shelters or Wi-Fi kiosks, as seen with LinkNYC.

For a deeper dive into Intersection’s strategy, here’s an interview Sixteen:Nine founder Dave Haynes conducted with Intersection CEO Chris Grosso two years ago.

Intersection CEO Chris Grosso On Smart City DOOH Networks And Using AI For Ad And Content Targeting